Greetings from Bleeding Green Nation

How has Bryan Bulaga looked? Is he going to start week 1, and if so, where will he start?

1. I don’t know that there will be a whole lot for us to improve on offense. Probably the offensive line will be the biggest thing but I think a lot of us expect the unit to perform well. On defense our pass rush and secondary need to improve. We need our defensive line to get a more consistent push, as well as getting more from Brad Jones who will be the starter opposite Clay Matthews. The nickel back spot for us is kind of a question mark. Many of us thought either Underwood (2nd year player) or Lee (3rd year player coming back off of IR) would step up and claim the spot but neither did. Sam Shields, who is an undrafted rookie out of Miami played himself into the mix and right now looks like the favorite to win the job. He’s got great speed and pretty good instincts but has only been playing cornerback for a year now, and is still pretty raw.

2. Personally, I was pretty happy about the change. It felt like it was Rodgers time, and after all the stuff Favre pulled that offseason I really wanted nothing to do with him. After watching him play I became even more excited. He’s a great decision maker, can make all the throws, and has very underrated escape ability.

3. Somewhat nervous. Like you, I feel like we should beat you guys. I think our offense will be too much for your defense to handle but in the back of my mind your explosive offense worries me. With guys like Jackson, Maclin, and McCoy you guys are a threat to score from anywhere on the field.

4. Like I touched on earlier, your offense worries me. It’s explosive, and is most effective through the air which is what I think will end up being our biggest struggle this season. I think the way to beat us will be too spread us out defensively. I don’t think we have the talent at the nickel and dime spots to consistently stop good passing teams. The best way to shut the offense down is to get pressure on them only rushing 4 guys. If you have to blitz to get pressure, chances are Rodgers will find the open guy(s).

I’m sure you’ve been asked this a million times but how has Kolb looked so far? I’ve been impressed with him in the games I’ve seen him play in but the sample size is relatively small.

Also, how is your offensive line looking? I saw that you guys traded Andrews, and thought that I had read something about a somewhat interesting situation at center.

Lastly, how has your defense looked? Do you think your front four will be able to generate a good, consistent pass rush or will you guys have to bring more blitzes to get consistent pressure?

PAD’s thoughts are pretty similar to mine, but I thought I would give a second opinion in the mix.

1. I am going to start with a disagreement with PAD and say that I think the running game is probablythe most needed area of improvement. It’s not very consistent and the Pack will pretty much coming out passing from the start to get the offensive tempo going. It would be nice to see Grant and the line just assert control of a game and out power teams now and then instead of just letting Rodgers shred up a team. Also as an extention, but for some reason the Packers cannot run a screen pass to save their soul. This started when MM came in, and it’s one of those things that isn’t talked about too much. It’s odd cause we used to do that all the time and now the timing just isn’t right.

On D you can flip a coin about pressure or coverage. Our nickelback situation is twisting in the wind and we don’t really have a second rushing option to CM3. Between those to things it makes for a shakey pass defense at times. You could chose just about every third major thread around this website and see some full break down of this problem, it’s also the one thing you hear every body who picks the Packers to win it all mention as soon as they finish praising how solid the offense looks.

2. I was optimistic, but reserved about Rodgers starting. You guys actually had a very nice separation with McNabb, it wasn’t the bitter drag out fight that Farve had with the organization…one that started about two years earlier really if one paid attention to the growing divide between Farve and TT. As a result of that bitter divorce the fan base was split, those that sided with the FO (who supported Rodgers as a matter of priniciple) and those that sided with Farve (who opposed Rodgers as a matter of principle). As a result you had weird things happening all year that year with fans booing every incomplete pass Rodgers had in training camp to just giving him a standing ovasion after winning his first start on MNF.

I personally looked forward to it, but was curious to see if he could last an entire season. The first two seasons he ended injured after finishing up for Farve (against the Pats in 06 which put him on IR) and in practice when there was a fair chance he may have to start (taht was in 07 after the Dallas game). When he put together a very solid 08 and played every game I knew we had the real deal.

3. I was excited. I figured it would take a game or two for Kolb to get his feet under him. I was also interested to see if the fans of the Eagles would turn on him if he looked shakey to start. Sorry if that seems rude, but I know that Eagle fans tend to have very high expectations and sometimes short on patience.

4. Best formula to beat the Pack: Pass, Pass, Pass. Use the big play recievers and get in a shoot out. Also try to send overload blitz and prove that the O-line can stop the blitz.

1. Our offense is one of the best, if not the best in the NFL. Not worried about that by any means, especially with our OL being improved. Our D was the best against the average teams to below average teams last year, but struggled against the elite QB’s in the league. The CB’s need to play solid and better than last year and we need to improve our pass rush outside of Clay Mathews.

2. You’re probably going to get mixed responses on this from Packer fans not just from this site. For obvious reasons, many fans were still very loyal to Favre and had a vendetta against Rodgers from the very beginning. As Rodgers continued to get better from Week 1, most fans became very fond of Rodgers, while the others became better known as Favre fans and have carried themselves over to the Vikings. Point is, Rodgers earned his respect from the true Packer fans. Some of us (including myself) stood by Rodgers from the beginning, which was rather tough considering all the love Favre had. How do we feel about Rodgers today? I’m sure you know the answer to that one! I would recommend you and your Eagle fans to give Kolb support, and hopefully he earns your respect in the long run.

3. Excited, yet relieved. As you probably know, the Packers have issues against Philly. LOL. It’s usually easier for us when games are played at Lambeau, but this one is at Philly, where we struggle mightily. On the contrary, it is Kolb’s first game, so he will be inexperienced. At least we get him and you guys out of the way early, as there is less game film for your Eagles to study on us.

4. The Eagles have long been known for their zone blitzes on defense. I think that worries me the most as Rodgers needs to get rid of the ball quickly and make accurate reads on the defense. The formula to beat Green Bay: Outscore us, by any means possible. By that I mean, you will probably have to score a lot of points. Please refer to MN x2, Pittsburgh, and Arizona from last year.

Still dont like you people (Eagles fans) from January 04 so I will not answer your questions and give any help or assistance. There! :)

I think you guys are going to be surprised by how Kolb acquits himself. I expect him to put up about 3500 yds and 25 TD’s at least! He has a chance to equal Rodgers as a 1st yr starter, IMO. I put my money where my mouth is too… I’m in a money fantasy league and wasn’t able to get one of the top 7 QB’s but wasn’t sweating it… I took Carson Palmer around the 5th rd as my starter, but I also took Kolb a couple rounds later as his backup, at least initially. It would not surprise me in the least if Kolb ends up being the better producer by the end of the year! I even considered taking Kolb when I took Palmer, but figured I could get him a few rds later!

What are the Iggles biggest ??? marks heading into the season? Beside Kolb… My guess is your OL… Will you be able to stop the run and how is your pass D?

Packer fans were more than 75% Favre when the whole thing went down… Most people by now favor Rodgers. Don’t let some of these guys fool you. The vast majority of them where still Favraholics till after Rodgers 1st season! I was among the few who were 100% in favor of Rodgers from the beginning. NorthStarr another commenter here will vouch for that too. He for me, and I for him… We had alot of lengthy debates w/ others that couldn’t concieve that the Packers didn’t take Favre back!

Good Luck this year! After you lose to the Packers I’ll be cheering for the Iggles to beat the girls and gents! And be keeping close tabs on Kolb for obvious reasons!!!

I’ve been away from the computer for a couple days but now im back and willing to answer any more questions you guys have.